Make a short film (30-seconds to two-minutes). Shoot in a South Carolina State Park. Tell a great story. And you could be on your way to becoming the next great filmmaker!

The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, Trident Technical College and the South Carolina Film Commission is holding a short film contest for high school students in South Carolina. It's simple- go to a South Carolina State Park and GO WILD! with your imagination!Be clever and creative! (See complete rules below.)

Deadline for entries is Friday, February 20, 2015. Winners will be announced in May 2015. The Top-Ten films will be screened at a special film festival screening (date TBD). Those Top-Ten young filmmakers will be invited to participate in a Q & A session with the audience following the screening of their films. Winning selections may be broadcast locally or statewide as Public Service Announcements.

Check out our YouTube channel for more info, including winners from last year.

1. Make an awesome short film, following the contest guidelines and shooting requirements below.

2. Upload your film to either YouTube or Vimeo. These are the two standard video sharing sites; if you don't have an account for one of them, it's easy to set one up. (Here's our Vimeo channel and YouTube channel.)

3. Tag your video with 'SC YOUNG FILMMAKERS' once you've uploaded it.

4. Complete the official registration form by clicking here: REGISTRATION FORM. You must complete the registration form by midnight EST on February 20, 2015. Be sure to include an accurate YouTube or Vimeo link to your entry in the form.

CONTEST GUIDELINES

1. Each entrant must be a high school student (grades 9-12) currently living in South Carolina.2. Each entrant may only enter once.3. Films must be :30 seconds - 2:00 minutes in length.4. Include the tag "SC Young Filmmakers" when uploading to YouTube or Vimeo.

SHOOTING REQUIREMENTS:

1. All entries must have at least one 3-second shot of South Carolina State Park signage in their film. This can be anything with the S.C. State Park logo or a State Park name.

2. All entries must shoot at least one scene at a South Carolina State Park. There are 47 State Parks from which to choose. All participants in the Young Filmmakers Contest will be granted free entry into any State Park. Visit www.southcarolinaparks.com and click on "Park Finder" to see a listing of all parks and their locations.

JUDGING CRITERIA

Films will be judged on the following:

• Strength of script and story• Quality and production value• Editing and pace

Films will initially be judged by a panel of industry judges, with their combined scored determing the TOP TEN. The TOP TEN will then be posted on the contest's YouTube channel and open for public voting for a two-week period; each 'like' will count as one vote. Those scores will be combined with the original judges' scores to determine the winners.

2014 CONTEST TIMELINE

•February 20, 2015: Deadline for completion of films. Films must be uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo by midnight.•MARCH 20 - APRIL 3, 2015: Judging of and public voting on films.•APRIL 24, 2015: Announcement of winners. •MAY 2015: Disbursement of prizes and trophies.

PRIZES

1st PLACE: $500 cash

2nd PLACE: $300 cash

3rd PLACE: $200 cash

Only one prize is allowed per filmmaker or team. The Top-Ten films will be screened at the Charleston International Film Festival (dates TBD) and each of the Top-Ten filmmakers will receive VIP passes to attend.

To provide young filmmakers an online place to compare notes, ask questions or discuss challenges with us as well as each other, we've created a Facebook page named: “South Carolina Young Filmmakers” with sample films, how-to videos and other resources. We'll also post reminders about contest guidelines and due dates.

ELIGIBILITY

The contest is open to high school students (grades 9-12) who reside in South Carolina. They may be students of public or private schools or home-schooled. Entries can be submitted by either individuals or groups.

PERMISSION FOR SCPRT USE

All entry materials will become the property of the SCPRT. The winners’ and finalists’ entries, names and likenesses may be used to promote the State Parks and future contests. These promotions may include television or radio public service announcements (PSAs), streaming video on a website or other dissemination via the Internet.

As part of its mission to foster South Carolina's production industry, the South Carolina Film Commission produces a series of grant and training programs through-out the year for professional crew, producers, and independent filmmakers in the state.With innovative and highly-effective approaches, the SCFC’s programs, including training workshops, the Indie Grants, the S.C. Young Filmmakers Project and screening events, develop a highly-trained crew base and a noteworthy film industry in South Carolina.